Shepherd's Moon (25 page)

She glared at him for a moment before issuing a low grunt to release the cubs. Tau was the first one down the tree, but Pasha — ever the diva — was not far behind. Tau bounded clumsily over, while Pasha picked her way with as much grace as her clumsy, monstrous paws would allow. I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer it would be before they outgrew the ungainly phase, but then — like the mother of a human baby — I hoped they never would…

Grinning, I knelt down and grabbed Tau’s thick scruff as they double-teamed me, wrestling me to the ground. Laughing, I pushed them off and let Jace help me to my feet. Every time I looked at them, it seemed they were twice the size they were the day before. I directed my attention to Modnik.

“Sorry guys, I don’t have treats today. Not that you need one.” Usually I didn’t show up empty-handed, but today had been a little more hectic than usual. “How much are you feeding them anyway?”

The proud mother allowed herself a rare moment of pleasure and pushed her head against my arm, purring as I ran my hand down the length of her long spine.

Taking advantage of the moment, I lowered my psychic shields to access her thoughts. While there, I quickly informed her that two mountain lions may be taking up residence with us, and explained why Daniel had suddenly appeared in our home.

She was less than pleased.

Even the thought of another cat in the house, she shook off my hand and stalked away in a huff.

“Well, that went well,” I muttered softly.

Jace touched me lightly on the arm and led me away from the retreating jaguars. “She’ll be fine. You know Modnik — the twins’ safety always come first.”

And rightly so. Modnik is, first and foremost, a survivor. No matter what life threw at her, she found a way to come out ahead of the game. But that had all come to a halt with the birth of her two cubs. The only thing that mattered to her now was making sure they grew up into healthy, happy jaguars.

“I suppose you’re right.” I watched her leap to her solitary place in the high tree overlooking her cubs that played below. The kittens darted through the large room, all clumsiness fading as they chased each other around with sleek stops and starts and tight turns that only a cat can make with any kind of grace. Occasionally, they would make a mad dash towards me, then veer away at the last moment, bounding away narrowly avoid their equally accomplished sibling.

Panting, Tau finally calmed his sister down with a low growl signaling that the game was over, then slinked towards me. Taking my arm between his strong jaws, he playfully pulled me down to the ground. One wrong move and those massive teeth could crush me.

And I needed my arm. Both of them.

“Careful…” I warned softly, just as he began to increase the pressure.

Chastised, he released my arm and dropped to his side in a playful roll, a cat-like apology if I’d ever seen one. I rubbed his belly before standing up.

“You two behave and mind your mama,” I smiled.

“Stop eating the vines…” Jace warned as he followed me out of the room.

The cubs watched us leave, a wistful look on their face, then playfully bounded back to their mother.

The house was alive with activity by the time nightfall rolled around, and when I finally answered Richard’s Skype, I could see he was having a day as hectic as mine. He was about as comfortable with technology as I was without it, and he never used a new gadget without reading the manual cover to cover. Yet, despite his issues with technology, he regularly footed the bill for his small department to attend shows and seminars on the latest tech conferences — whether it was incorporating CIE color coordinates into forensic science or using social media as a force multiplier, Richard was always the first to sign his team up for a class.

However, the only time he used a tool like video messaging was when Cassie was in the room to guide him through the process. But tonight there was no sign of Cassie in the webcam and she wasn’t standing at his elbow while he fumbled with the keyboard, so I guessed something was happening and it wasn’t likely to result in anything other than more work for me.

“Evening Richard, what’s up?” As I talked, I continued checking over the cages that Billy and Brock had spent the day repairing, positioning the cell phones camera in front of me.

“I need you to come pick up the guy Tristan brought in last night.”

I laughed, shaking my head.
Like Hell. Richard brought Tristan onto that case—he could damn sure handle the mess.
“I don’t think so. You hired him, you deal with him. Besides, we’re headed out now to pick up your stray cougars.”

Annoyance flickered across his face. “What am I going to do with a shifter down here?”

I shrugged. “Ask the golden boy — he booked the guy.”

“I can’t seem to locate him.” Even with the small phone screen, I could see frustration set the lines of his face, and I almost relented.

Almost…

Brock caught my attention with an impatient glance as he jogged down the stone steps. He pointed to his watch and mouthed the words,
We need to go.

“I’m coming,” I whispered.

“Who are you talking too?” Richard asked.

“Brock,” I answered, motioning to the shelves, “load those tarps — we need to get these covered.”

“Alex!” Richard’s voice came over the speaker and I returned my attention to the video call. “I need
you
to come get him. You’re the only one with a facility that can handle this guy.”

“And I told you I can’t, Richard. Find Tristan and make him deal with it. He’s the only reason you have custody of a Newborn in the first place.”

Billy and Jace entered the room and began testing the cage, rocking the bars and doing their best ape impressions. Rolling my eyes, I motioned to them, miming for them to get the traps loaded.

Billy helped Jace and Brock carry the traps to the freight elevator that lifted them to the main gate, then playfully grabbed Jace and put him in a headlock. Struggling against his hold, Jace fell back against the cage with a loud crash.

“Knock it off, you guys,” I warned, stepping between them. “I’m on the phone!”

“We need to leave soon,” Billy mouthed, making completely inaccurate miming motions.

I held out my hand and blew a breath of frustration. “Sorry, Richard. We’re stretched too thin tonight. I may be able to send someone over after we get these cats, but no guarantees.” Unlocking the giant gun safe on the wall, I set the phone on the counter so Richard could still see me. “Is he talking yet?”

“I haven’t had time to find out,” he admitted. “He’s been processed, but no one’s had time to go in there.”

“He’s in gen-pop?” I motioned Billy away and turned my back on him. “Jesus, Richard. The guy just killed his family! If the inmates start harassing him, he won’t last long.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I felt the tension in Richard’s voice. “I’ve got him isolated, but he’s already torn one room up. We can’t keep him tranqed forever.”

I glanced at the clock. There was no way I could make it down there before picking up these cats tonight. “Okay, fine. I’m taking the guys out to get those cats. If there’s room in the back, I’ll pick your guy up on the way home.”

I wouldn’t mind asking the man a few questions anyway.

But, right now I was still angry that Richard had allowed Tristan to interfere on my case. My curiosity could wait until later. “Meanwhile, I need you to keep everyone off campus tonight. Especially any officials.”

He nodded, jotting a note as I watched on the screen. “Wear your vest.”

One thing I liked about Richard is that he didn’t ask a lot of questions. He trusted my judgment, for the most part, and generally followed any recommendations I made. He was a nutcase about my vest, as I rarely wore it. While it was built from the lightest Kevlar available, it was still hot and heavy. Besides, I didn’t feel like I needed to worry about my safety if I had my boys with me.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll wear your vest,” he stated.

“Just keep the campus closed tonight, and your new guy out of my way.”

“That goddamned Nephilim is making my life a living hell.” The frustration was evident on Richard’s face and his words were little more than a grumble, but I nearly dropped the phone nonetheless. Richard never cursed. Things must be worse than I thought. I felt bad for him, but not bad enough to drive all the way over to county lockup.

“Are you ever going to tell me where you dug that guy up?”

He shook his head. “It’s a long and sordid tale that I would rather not get into right now.”

I didn’t have time to get into details anyway as I glimpsed the boys trying to place a second trap in the elevator to save space and time. There was not a chance in hell they would both fit and the only thing they would succeed in doing is damaging the already fragile traps.

“Richard. I have to go. I’ll talk to you later tonight and if I can get over there, I will.”

“Wear the vest,” he said firmly. “And good luck.”

Billy and Brock waited quietly near the elevator. As we rode up together, I could feel tension filling the air of the closed space around us.

“What?” I asked, suddenly concerned as the doors opened to the work area of our garage. Placing the phone in my pocket, I stepped out.

“We don’t even know what we’re dealing with yet, Alex. What’s your big plan — grab the tigers by the tail and drag them home?”

“
Mountain lions,
” Brock corrected. “Not
tigers
.”

His clarification earned him a sarcastic glare from Billy.

I flashed both of them a look of disdain and held up the pistol and dart. “I had something a little less dramatic in mind.” Walking around the pickup truck, I pointed to the traps. “They ride better if you flip them on their sides. And when you’re done, meet me in the kitchen and we’ll figure out the best plan of action. I need to talk with Jace for a second.”

Jace met me at the entry door, again with his spooky timing. Half the time, I felt like he was a magician.

“About last night…” I began.

Jace shook his head, “Not another word. It’s already forgotten.”

“How’s Daniel getting along?” I asked, as eager as he to move on from the awkward topic.

“He’s a cute little kitty.” Jace grinned, keeping pace with me. “I swear, if Zack weren’t already in my life, I could see myself becoming a cat lover.”

“Don’t,” I warned. “Daniel is in the ‘don’t touch’ department. I just want you and Aida to get him acclimated.”

Jace nodded. “You take all the fun out of things, you know.”

“That’s why I get paid the big bucks,” I said, tossing a large duffle bag at least half my size full of supplies ranging from duct tape to dart guns into the back of the truck.

Just being around the flamboyant horseshifter calmed me. He rarely got into my business, he was always peaceful, and he had an affinity for alternative forms of religion, which included my personal favorite — retaining the choice to not worship anything at all. With the exception of Aida, other members of the household generally dropped their religious affiliations at the time of their turn, and I can’t say I blame them. The church was not exactly accepting of anything different — and my extended family most certainly fit into the ‘different’ category. Despite their claim of brotherly love, religious zealots had a long history of hunting down and killing anything that didn’t fit into their perfect world. Christianity’s record of intolerance wasn’t something I could ever support.

At least not emotionally. I learned early on that if you toss enough money in a church’s direction, things move smoothly enough to avoid trouble. Back in the old days, they would have burned us out of our home.

“We’ve gotta go.” I said, glancing at the fading light through the window. “Let’s get a plan figured out.”

Jace led the way to my office where Daniel sat waiting. The shifter had gotten a shower and a good night’s sleep. Today he looked like a new person.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Better.” Daniel nodded shyly. “Thank you for your help.”

“Well, that’s sort of what we do around here.” I smiled. “If you don’t mind staying on awhile, we may have a few newcomers to help out with tonight.”

“I would like that.” He glanced nervously at the pack as each of the men stared at their cups.

“Excellent. Aida is going to show you around and introduce you to the kittens.” I hesitated. “Modnik is a little overprotective, so be respectful of the cubs. Other than that, you’re free to explore. I’m sure you’re anxious to take a look around.”

“It’s much larger than what I’m accustomed too.”

I recalled Meg’s modest home, and the cage he was likely held in at the facility before his time with the elderly woman.

“Take your time. The room you stayed in last night is yours for as long as you like.”

Brock appeared in the doorway and threw an anxious glance my way. I motioned him in, then cleared my throat. “Right now, we’ve got some things to attend too. You can stick around and listen in or you can start that exploration.”

The cat hesitated, clearly not comfortable making a decision.